Jeb Bush's campaign is going big on Uber

Jeb Bush is a fan of Uber.
Reuters/Brian Snyder
Jeb Bush's Republican presidential campaign is using Uber extensively to get around.

The former Florida governor published his first campaign-finance report Wednesday, and it is filled with payments to the ride-hailing app company.

In just the last two weeks of June, Bush's campaign paid Uber almost 70 separate times for a total of roughly $1,400, records show. Bush's son also wrote on Twitter last month that he had "taken 75 rides in 12 cities over 10 months."

Bush is reportedly set to personally get an Uber ride on Thursday while traveling in San Francisco. That move is likely meant to draw some contrast with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic presidential front-runner who earlier this week took a jab at what she called the "gig economy."

"Meanwhile, many Americans are making extra money renting out a spare room, designing websites, selling products they design themselves at home, or even driving their own car," Clinton said during a Monday economic-policy speech, according to her campaign transcript.

She added, "This 'on demand' or so-called 'gig economy' is creating exciting opportunities and unleashing innovation, but it's also raising hard questions about workplace protections and what a good job will look like in the future."

Reached for comment on the Uber payments, Bush spokesman Tim Miller criticized Clinton and said Bush's Miami-based campaign wished it could have hailed even more Uber rides.

Other Republicans also bashed Clinton's "gig economy" remarks after her speech. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky), whose presidential campaign also paid Uber for travel expenses, slammed her on Twitter for being "out of touch."